BABYLON, NY – At least four people were killed and another nine injured when a driver crashed a minivan through the front of a nail salon on Long Island, New York, Friday afternoon, officials said.
The incident occurred at 4:42 p.m. local time at the Hawaii Nail & Spa on Grand Avenue in Deer Park in Suffolk County.
Dominic Albanese, third assistant chief of the Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department, said in a news conference that four people were pronounced dead at the scene and nine people were rushed to area hospitals, one of which was transported by helicopter. Several people had to be rescued, Albanese said.
“It appears a motorist drove through the building, all the way through the building,” Albanese said.
CBS2
The driver was among the people hospitalized. The condition of the injured victims was unknown.
Those killed in the crash were inside the building, Albanese said. No names have been released.
The minivan remained wedged deep in the back of the salon for hours and 150 firefighters and emergency workers were on the scene, Albanese said.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Nail salon customers among 9 injured victims
At least two of the injured victims were nail salon customers.
Virginia Garcia told CBS New York that her 20-year-old niece was among the injured. Garcia said her niece is in a lot of pain and is extremely emotional after the incident.
“The lady sitting next to her died. So she was even more nervous because when she saw that the other lady died, she thought, God saved her life, in short… She is lucky to be alive,” Garcia said.
She says her niece most likely has a few broken bones.
One client who normally has a standing appointment at 4:30 pm on Fridays happened to switch days this week. She showed up after hearing the news.
“I don’t even know who’s gone, who’s not gone. I keep picturing their faces in my head,” said customer Jasmin Darbouze.
Witnesses say the driver was weaving around cars before the crash
Witnesses say the driver left the Kohl’s parking lot across the street, weaving around cars, losing control and crashing into the nail salon.
“It’s not a car crash. It’s like hearing glass breaking, it’s not metal on metal. It’s not the same sound,” said witness Eric Perez.
A chaplain arrived on the scene on Friday afternoon, offering a listening ear to the victims’ families and emergency responders.
“If anyone wants to speak, if anyone just wants us to be here, we’ll come here,” said Andrea Sampson of the New York State Chaplain Task Force.
“It’s terrible. It’s going to be tough on the community, tough on the volunteer fire department, but we’ll get through it,” Albanese said.
